Cooking "Outside the Box":
Cheerfully Answering the Question "What's For Dinner?"
Class by Krista Schimmelbusch
Below are the wonderful recipes from Krista's popular class.
Homemade Powdered Milk Yogurt
Notes: It
is important that you NOT use instant powdered milk! The powdered milk from the
distribution center is not instant and works great, but if you want to use
another powdered milk, make sure that it isn't instant.
Also,
I use Nancy's lowfat plain yogurt for my "starter" because it has a wide variety
of good active live cultures. Your starter yogurt must contain live active
cultures and if it does it will be written on the container.
The
"additional powdered milk" called for in the following recipes is the portion of
powdered milk called for beyond that required to reconstitute the milk for
regular consumption. All recipes call for "additional powdered milk" this is a
more natural way to thicken yogurt than gelatin or food starch that is often
found in commercial yogurt. You can make the yogurt thicker into Greek style if
you strain it in a colander lined with a thin dish towel or cheese cloth for an
hour or two. The longer you strain it, the thicker it becomes. You can strain
it to be as thick as cream cheese and use it as a cream cheese substitute if you
want. You can use the strained liquid as a buttermilk substitute. You can
sweeten with sugar, honey or agave and flavor the yogurt best after it has been
strained. I like to add good vanilla bean vanilla extract. This is also good
flavored with freezer jam!
The
first time you make this it is recommended that you take the temperature of your
milk before adding the yogurt starter to your warmed milk. You'll want to make
sure that the temperature of your particular crock pot reaches the 110-115
degrees. Once you know your milk is that temperature after the 3 hour cooling
off stage, you won't need to check the temperature any more. If your milk is
either too hot or too cold, just adjust the time that your milk cools in the
crock pot before adding the starter.
Anyone may call me if they have problems or questions.
Krista Schimmelbusch
503-866-5968
Ingredients for nonfat yogurt: (all powdered milk)
1 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1 1/3 cup nonfat dry milk "additional powdered milk"
8 cups water
1/2 cup lowfat plain yogurt (with live active cultures).
Ingredients for low fat
yogurt:
Ingredients for whole milk
yogurt:
An economical healthy and DELICIOUS way to rotate food
storage powdered milk!
Directions:
In a blender combine all the powdered milk and the water until processed.
You might need to blend it in two batches depending on the capacity of your
blender. Pour the blended milk into a non reactive ceramic crock pot and turn it
on low for 2 1/2 hours. Turn the crock pot off and let it sit on the counter for
3 hours until temperature cools down to between 110 and 115 degrees. Remove 1
cup of the warmed milk and add 1/2 cup lowfat yogurt that contains live active
cultures to the cup of milk. Gently blend, it is best if there are still some
visible lumps of yougurt in the mix. Pour the yogurt milk mixture back into the
crock pot and wrap the crock pot with a thick towel. Place in an oven ( with the
light on) and let it sit for 8 hours. When yogurt done, if you want a thicker
Greek style yogurt you can pour it into a strainer covered with a "flour sack"
dish towel over a bowl to strain and chill. For a thinner yogurt you can just
refrigerate the yogurt as is. Yogurt becomes runnier the more it is stirred. I
am very careful with it unless it is strained. I think if you want to sweeten
or add fruit to it, it works best if you strain it good and then you can stir it
without it losing it's thickness.
Nutritional Info:
Serving Size 1 serving (294.8 g) Amount Per Serving
Calories 164Calories from Fat 5 % Daily Value* Total Fat 0.6g1% Saturated Fat
0.4g2% Cholesterol 9mg3% Sodium 245mg10% Total Carbohydrates 23.2g8% Sugars
23.2g Protein 16.2g Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 5% Calcium 57% • Iron 1%
Béchamel Sauce (White Sauce)
Ingredients:
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 7 tablespoons flour
- 4 cups hot milk
- 1 teaspoon salt and several
- grinds of white pepper
Directions:
Special Equipment Suggested:
The white roux. Melt the butter in the 2 1/2-quart saucepan, then blend in the flour with a wooden spoon to make a smooth somewhat loose paste. Stir over moderate heat until the butter and flour foam together for 2 minutes without coloring more than a buttery yellow. Pour in the milk
at once, whisking vigorously to blend tho-roughly. Then whisk rather slowly over
moderately high heat, reaching all over the bottom and sides of the pan, until the sauce comes to a simmer;
simmer 2 to 3 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon nicely. Whisk in the salt and pepper, tasting very carefully and adding more as needed.
Ahead-of-time note: To prevent a skin from forming over the surfaceof the sauce, (1) whisk it every few minutes until it has cooled, or (2)
press a sheet of plastic wrap right down onto the surface. The sauce will keep 2
to 3 days under refrigeration or may be frozen.
For a thicker or thinner sauce
Thin sauce, such as for cream soups:
1 tablespoon flour and 3/4 tablespoon butter per cup of milk.
Thick sauce, such as for cheese soufflés:
2 tablespoons flour and 1 1/2 tablespoons butter per cup of milk
For a lighter or richer sauce, use skim milk for the former, or, for a rich sauce, use half-and-half or whisk several tablespoons of butter into the finished sauce.
First aid for a lumpy sauce: Push it through a mine-meshed sieve, then whirl it in an electric blender, and finally whisk it over heat
until it simmers a moment.
Source: The Way to Cook by Julia Child
Mornay Sauce (Cheese Sauce)
Ingredients:
-
1 recipe béchamel sauce
- 1 cup grated cheese
Directions:
Make either a white or a velouté sauce, and let it cool several minutes before whisking it grated cheese. Proportions are usually 1/4 cup of cheese
per cup of sauce, and the cheese is usually Swiss, although you may use any kind you wish. Usually, too, a speck of nutmeg is included.
First aid for stringy cheese sauce: When cheese is added to a very hot sauce
the sauce can become stringy – Swiss cheese is often the culprit here. To remedy, bring it to the simmer whisking in drops of lemon juice
Source: The Way to Cook by Julia Child
Master Recipe
Velouté Soup Base
For about 2
quarts
4 tablespoons
butter
3/4 cup to 1 1/2 cups minced onion and/or white of leek – the
amount depending on
your other ingredients
1/4 cup flour
7 to 8 cups
liquid: chicken or fish stock and/or milk or vegetable
cooking liquid – of which at least 1 cup is hot
Salt and freshly ground
white pepper
Special
Equipment Suggested:
A heavy-bottomed 3-quart stainless
saucepan
Set the
saucepan over moderately low heat, add the butter, and, when melted, stir in the
onions. Cover and cook slowly 7 to 8 minutes, or until the onions are tender
and translucent. Blend in the flour. Stir slowly for 3 minutes, to cook the
flour without letting it color… [illustration included in cookbook] Remove from
heat, and in a few seconds, when bubbling stops, pour in 1 cup of hot liquid all
at once, whisking vigorously to blend smooth-ly. Whisk in 6 more cups. Bring to
the simmer, stirring frequently to be sure the soup is not scorching on the
bottom of the pan. The soup base should be slightly thickened, enough to coat a
spoon lightly… add dollops more liquid if too thick. Correct seasoning, and
continue as your recipe directs.
Ahead-of-time
note for roux-based soups and sauces: Warm flour-based soups and sauces
will form a skin over their surface. The skin will not form if you stir the
soup frequently until it is cool. Or fill a large kitchen spoon with stock
or milk and lay the spoon just over the surface, tipping it to let the liquid
float on top. Or lay a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the surface, pressing
it well.
Variation
Cream of Mushroom Soup
“Use
this as a general model for all velouté soups, and since the base itself is
well flavored, the actual amount of other ingredients you add is not
too important. For instance, the following recipe calls for 1 quart of
mushrooms, but just a handful will give the mushroom
impression.”
For about 2 1/4 quarts,
serving 6
Ingredients
for the preceding Velouté Soup Base, made with 1 cup of hot chicken broth
and
6 or more cups of milk
1 quart fresh mushrooms, trimmed,
washed,
and diced
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves
1/2 cup or more sour
cream,
heavy cream, or crème fraîche,
optional
Salt and freshly ground
white pepper
Drops of fresh lemon juice, if needed
Suggested
decoration:
Springs of fresh tarragon; or slivers of neatly sliced
raw mushroom caps tossed in drops of lemon juice; or a fluted stewed
mushroom cap for each serving
Special
Equipment Suggested:
A food processor is useful for mincing the
mushrooms
Finishing
the soup and serving. Bring the soup base to the simmer, and fold in the
mushrooms and tarragon; simmer 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent
scorching. Stir in the optional cream, simmer a moment more, and carefully
correct seasoning, adding drops of lemon juice if you think they are needed.
Decorate each serving, if you wish, as suggested.
Other Cream of Vegetable Soups
"Make
other vegetable soups in much the same way, either simmering the vegetables
in the velouté base as for the preceding mushroom soup,or cooking them
separately as for the following broccoli soup. Here the soup is puréed, and
given a final decoration of broccoli buds."
Cream of Broccoli Soup
For about 2 1/2 quarts,
serving 6 to 8
2 large heads
of fresh broccoli (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds)
Salt and freshly ground white
pepper
Ingredients for the Velouté Soup Base
1/2 cup or more sour cream,
heavy cream,
or crème fraîche, optional
Drops of lemon juice, if
needed
2 tablespoons butter, optional
Special
Equipment Suggested:
An electric blender or a food processor – the blender
does a faster and better job
of puréeing – or a vegetable
mill
Preparing
the broccoli. Wash the broccoli. Trim an inch or so off the woody ends of
each stem, and peel the stems with a knife up to where the bud branches
begin, taking off a scant 1/16 inch of the tough outer green skin. Cut off
the tiny branches and bud ends of the broccoli flowerettes, and reserve. Cut
the remaining stalks into 1/4-inch slices.
Preliminary cooking of the
broccoli. Place the sliced broccoli in a saucepan; add 1/2 inch of water and
1/4 teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil and boil slowly uncovered 4 to 5
minutes, adding a little more water if necessary, until the pieces are barely
tender and a fine bright green. Drain through a sieve set over a bowl, and
return the cooking liquid to the saucepan. Purée the steamed broccoli with a
cup or so of the soup base, pouring the purée back into the remaining soup –
which will now be a lovely fresh pale green. Simmer the reserve broccoli buds
in the cooking liquid for 2 to 3 minutes, drain the cooking liquid into
another saucepan, and boil down rapidly to less than 1 cup; pour the liquid
into the soup base. Meanwhile, run cold water over the broccoli buds to
set the color, and reserve for the final decoration.
Ahead-of-time
note: To preserve its green color chill the soup uncovered.
Finishing
the soup. Shortly before serving, bring the soup to the simmer. Stir in the
cream if you are using it. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes uncovered – always watching
that it does not scorch! Taste carefully for seasoning, adding lemon juice if
you think it needed. (The broccoli buds: rather than leaving them as is, you
may wish to sauté them briefly in 2 table-spoons of
butter.)
Serving. Pour the soup into a warmed tureen for serving at
the table, or into warmed soup cups or plates. Decorate with the broccoli
buds.
Costco Rotisserie Chicken Stock
1-2 Costco Rotisserie Chickens
1 large
yellow onion
1 large carrot
1 celery stalk
1 bay leaf
A few black
pepper corns
Optional- herbs or parsley
Pick the meat off the chickens
when they have cooled enough to handle them. Place bones and skin in a large
tall pot. Slice the onion into quarters and put it and the other things in a
pot. Add cold water until it covers the meat by about 1 inch. Bring to a
simmer over medium high heat, and then turn the heat down to maintain a gentle
simmer. Don't let it boil rapidly. Just legit ever so gently bible on the
stove for at least two hour or all day.( it makes the house smell wonderful!).
Strain the stock by purring it through a mesh strainer or colander. Skim the
fat off and liberally add salt. Use in a day or two, or freeze for later
use.
Mama Leone's Chicken Soup (made with homemade chicken stock)
Note: This is an example of a Velouté soup
Servings: 12
Ingredients:
Chicken Stock:
Soup Ingredients:
2 T veg oil
- 3 T butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 1 T minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp tarragon
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika
- 2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup plus 2 T flour
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes w/juice
- 3/4 cup cream
- 2 cups thinly sliced spinach
Optional Additions:
Directions:
Pull the chicken meat off the bones and reserve 3 cups meat for soup. Place
bones and skin in a stock pot along with the stock ingredients. Cover with water
and gently simmer for at least 2 hours on very low heat. When the bones have
released their flavor and stock is rich, strain. Skim the fat off of the broth.
Don't forget to salt the stock to taste.
Heat oil and butter and saute onions and celery until onions are translucent,
6-7 minutes. Add garlic, tarragon, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper. Cook,
stirring, 3-4 min.
Add flour and stir until well-combined. Sauté for 2 minutes. Don't let it
brown. Slowly whisk in broth and bring to a boil. Add tomatoes. Reduce heat and
simmer about 20 minutes, or until veggies are cooked. Just before serving, add
reserved chicken, cream and fresh spinach. Bring up to a simmer and serve.
(Don't boil after adding the cream). For a lighter version, you can skip the
cream and it is delicious too!
Source: Krista's Version of Mama Leone's Soup
Chicken Pot Pie
Note: this is made using a velouté sauce
Ingredients:
Directions:
Heat butter in a heavy sauce pan. Sauté all the vegetables for 10 minutes.
Stir in the flour and cook flour for at least 2 minutes. Then stir in the broth
and stir until thick. Add the cream or milk and stir until thickened. Add the
peas, salt, pepper and chicken. Pour into a 2 quart shallow casserole dish and
top with the pie crust. You can brush the crust with a little milk or egg wash
(a beaten egg with 1 tbs water whisked together). Prick the top of the crust
with a sharp knife and sprickle lightly with salt and pepper. Bake 400° oven for
30 minutes.
Source: My Collection
No Knead Bread
Servings: one 1 pound loaf
Ingredients:
-
3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- Covered pot (five-quart or larger cast iron, Pyrex, ceramic,
enamel...something that can go into a 450F oven.)
Directions:
1. Mix dough: The night before or the morning of depending on when you want
it to be ready. Combine all ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon until
the dough just comes together. It will be a shaggy, doughy mess. Cover with
plastic wrap and let sit 12-20 hours on countertop.
2. 2 hours before baking: The dough will now be wet, sticky and bubbly. With
wet hands, gently shape the dough into a ball being careful not to lose too many
of the bubbles. Place a large sheet of parchment paper or a dish towel on the
counter. GENEROUSLY sprinkle the towel or paper with flour so that it will
release from the towel when ready to bake. Place dough seam side down on the
floured surface. Lift parchment paper or towel up with dough and place into a
large bowl. Cover bowl with a towel. Let it nap for 2 hours. When you've got
about a half hour left, slip your covered pot into the oven and preheat to
450F.
3. Bake: Your dough should have doubled in size. Remove pot from oven. Grab
the ends of the parchment paper or towel and lift entire wobbly dough blob out
of bowl and gently turn the bread over and place it into the pot (seam side up).
Cover. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover, bake another 15-20 minutes or until the crust
is beautifully golden and middle of loaf is 210F. Remove and let cool on wired
rack. If not eating right away, you can re-crisp crust in 350F oven for 10
minutes. Best way to eat it? Smear a warm slice with some good butter (Kerrygold
and Lurpac are both found in your grocery stores, usually on top shelf)
Notes: Mark Bittman of NY Times who got it from Sullivan Street
Bakery. When the recipe first came out, it was the blogging community who took
the bread to new heights, especially Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Bread
Bible.
Mom's Dijon Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
-
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/4 t. salt
- 1/8 t. black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- (Optional) Fresh herbs, I really like fresh tarragon
Directions:
Mix the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper until the salt is dissolved. Then
slowly whisk in the olive oil in a thin stream to emulsify.
